Bent, Battered but never Broken.

I suddenly stir and begin to wake

As my body and mind try to integrate

Bedroom full of shadows and dappled light

Day has chased away the night

As I slowly move this tired body

I’ve slept for a few hours but still feel weary

But I will not admit defeat

As I struggle to stand and get to my feet

Like an old man I stagger and sway

As I slowly and carefully make my way

Creaking bones on creaking floor

And freeze for a moment by the bedroom door

Some days I feel like I am ninety three

Trapped in a cage ,struggling to  break free

Like a pacing tiger in a gilded cage

Moving so slowly like a man twice my age

Chronic fatigue affects both body and brain

Aching muscles and darting pain

Like electric shocks on aching bone

I wish just for one day they would leave me alone

Some days I just feel like crying

But Inside, I’m still alive and dancing

I am still that child ,that strong young man

So I will continue to do all that I can

Someday I will be just bones and dust

Life goes on as it surely must

Parkinson’s has robbed me of a lot

But I can still dream and scheme and plot

I still have things to do and places to be

People to meet and many wonders to see

And still many words left unspoken

I may be bent and battered ,but I will never be broken.

c/ Denis Murphy 24 May 2017.